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This 60-minute documentary on DVD is the fourth in Prairie Public’s “Germans from Russia” series. Throughout their travels, this enduring ethnic group maintained their traditional religious music, their lullabies and folk songs, their vocal and instrumental music. “A Soulful Sound: Music of the Germans from Russia” blends expert commentary with performances of traditional music—in the original language—from regional talent.

Performances by St. Andrews Lutheran Centennial Choir (Zeeland area), University of Mary Concert Choir (Bismarck), Jamestown College Concert Choir (Jamestown), Young People’s Hutterite Singers (Glyndon, MN), Alive Choir (Kulm area), James Valley Singers (Jamestown), Centennial Mens Choir (Harvey area) and the Napoleon area folk singers. Singers featured in the program include Maria Appelhans (Fort Collins, Colorado), Rosalinda Kloberdanz (Fargo), John Gross (Napoleon), Tony Wangler (Kintyre), Robert Erbele (Lehr) and Ron Volk (Harvey). Marv Zander (Mandan), Victor Schwahn (Bismarck) and their bands will perform accordion music at a barn dance and also recreate a traditional wedding reception in The BlueRoom in Strasburg. “Dutch Hop” music is performed from Torrington, Wyoming. The documentary is the fourth in the Prairie Public Germans from Russia Series, which includes “Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe, Children of the Prairie”; “Schmeckfest: Food Traditions of the Germans from Russia”; and “Prairie Crosses, Prairie Voices: Iron Crosses of the Great Plains.” The documentary series tells the story of the German-speaking peoples who settled in Russia in the 18th and early 19th centuries, then migrated yet again to North America and South America. Throughout their travels, this enduring ethnic group maintained their traditional religious music, their lullabies and folk songs, their vocal and instrumental music. “A Soulful Sound, Music of the Germans from Russia” blends expert commentary with performances of traditional music—in the original language—from regional talent.

Looking at the shallow twists and turns of the Red River, it’s hard to imagine that steam-powered paddlewheel boats were once the most important transportation link between St. Paul and Winnipeg. From the first in 1859 to the last that sank in 1909, Red River steamboats hauled thousands of settlers and millions of pounds of freight across the border. Although it lasted barely 50 years, the age of the steamboat forged a commercial network between the United States and Canada that exists to this day in the I29 corridor.

To shine a spotlight on this important piece of prairie history, Steamboats on the Red examines the history of steamboat transportation on the Red River and the impact this important trade route had on the development of the region.

Producer: Kim Stenehjem
Editor: Ben Stommes
Executive Producer: Bob Dambach
Theme song composed by Elisa Korene
Production funding provided by the following:
Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
with money from the voters on November 4, 2008
North Dakota Humanities Council
Winnipeg Foundation
Members of Prairie Public
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of the North Dakota Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The story begins in 1914 with the theatre’s larger-than-life founder, Alfred G. Arvold, whose other creations included the Lincoln Log Cabin, the Student Life Train, Lilac Days, and pageants attended by thousands. The story continues with Dr. Frederick Walsh, who spearheaded the building of Askanase Hall, originated the statewide traveling Prairie Stage, and produced and directed “Old Four Eyes” in Medora, North Dakota.
Alumni, faculty members, and a wealth of historical images recall 100 years of curtain calls for The Little Country Theatre.
Executive Producer: Bob Dambach
Editor: Ann Hall Anderson
Production funding for this program is provided by the North Dakota State University Division of Performing Arts, NDSU Development Foundation Centennial Endowment, Major General Schroeder and Jean Schroeder, and by the members of Prairie Public.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a spark of political radicalism ignited long-held resentments and turned a small agrarian protest movement into a national political prairie fire. Called the last of the great farmer’s crusades, The Rise and Fall of the Nonpartisan League is a story fraught with political intrigue, back room dealings, conspiracies, riots, red baiting, slander, and libel. Although in the end the Nonpartisan League was doomed to fail as a national force, the legacy of protest shaped the political landscape of the Great Plains today.

This three-part documentary series examines Minnesota and North Dakota farmers who, for a time, took control of their own economic destinies and organized themselves to challenge the grain marketing, railroad, and banking monopolies that denied them the profits of their own labor:

Disc 1
We’ll Stick We’ll WinStorms On The Horizon

Disc 2
Resurgence
The All Stars of the Nonpartisan League
Bonus Features

Tour the developing tourism industry in Uganda with this new local production from Prairie Public. The 30-minute documentary chronicles a six-year pilot project by the University of Manitoba’s Natural Resources Institute and Dr. Michael Campbell, who helped three Ugandan communities build their tourism industry while also protecting the abundant wildlife and ecologically sensitive scenery.

“Voices of the Heartland” is a CD collection of narratives in the tradition of the Growing Up German-Russian series and gleaned from the oral histories collection of the Dakota Memories Oral History Project.

The 3-6 minute narratives aired in the Dakota Datebook time slot each Monday and Friday in the fall of 2007. Jessica Clark, project coordinator, explained that these interviews are designed to preserve the precious history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. The series is hosted by State Senators Tim Mathern and Robert Erbele.

Walter Piehl: Sweetheart of the Rodeo documents how this North Dakota visual artist and Minot State University art professor combines an expressionistic style with literal and interpretive investigations of many facets of Western American life.

Piehl’s acrylic on canvas work is often large in scale and is appreciated across North America as well as in his native state. Among his many honors and awards is a 2008 Enduring Visions Award for his creativity, connection to community, and impressive body of work presented by the Bush Foundation, a private foundation serving Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Producer: Bob Dambach
Editor: Ann Hall Anderson
Principle Videographer: Ryan Sailer
Executive Producer: Bob Dambach
Production funding provided by the North Dakota Council on the Arts
and the members of Prairie Public.

Energy is inextricable linked to water. With the greater need for energy, the demand for water will continue to increase. How can we balance the need for water in energy with water for crops, households, and factories? How can we make do with the water we have? This 30-minute documentary describes the connection between water and energy and documents how cities and utilities across the western United States are collaborating, conserving, and utilizing new technology to squeeze more use out of every precious drop of water.

“Water: The Lifeblood of Energy” is a production of Prairie Public Broadcasting in collaboration with the Northern Great Plains Water Consortium, led by the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center. Executive Producers Bethany Kurz and Bob Dambach; Producers/Writers Charlene Crocker and Daniel Daly; Production Manager Barbara Gravel; Animation Tim Eissenger of 3D Graphics; Narrator Joyce Eisenbraun.

This thirty-minute documentary is a searing chronicle of a forgotten genocide and a lost people, whose ” .. misery screams to the heavens.” The lost people are the ethnic German minority living in Soviet Ukraine, who wrote their American relatives about the starvation, forced labor, and execution that were almost daily fare in Soviet Ukraine during 1928-1938.

Wetland loss is a major environmental problem on the prairies, and this loss is impacting water quality and flooding, which was widespread across much of the prairies during the spring and summer of 2011. “Wetlands: The Drain Game,” a 30-minute documentary, sheds light on those issues, explores economic impacts, and examines how wetland drainage affects all residents of the prairie region. Most importantly, the documentary looks at what is needed to protect these important ecosystems.

When They Were Kings: The NDSU-UND Rivalry is a remarkable documentary that chronicles, through interviews and file footage highlights, the two great rivalries between the schools in their Division II days. The football rivalry raged between 1981 and 2003, and the women’s basketball rivalry played out during the 1990s when NDSU and UND combined to win eight out of nine national titles. The 90-minute documentary features interviews with all the key coaches and players and is an exciting tribute to the men and women who made the rivalry special.

With little more than 100 frost free days, and clay-ladden prairie soils, the passionate gardeners of Winnipeg manage to grow outstanding gardens. On DVD, “Winnipeg in Bloom” is the story of these gardens of love and hope.

Nurtured like beloved children to produce what nature had never intended. Joyful, colourful, abundant, natural landscapes that succeed in creating a little Eden in each yard. Each new year, they emerge like artists ready to recreate a fresh canvas of delight and exultation. They paint with form and colour, turning rubble piles into sanctuaries.

World War II veterans are extraordinary—their bravery inspires us, and their sacrifices secured the freedoms we treasure. On DVD for the first time, “WWII Prairie Memories” is an important collection of veteran voices, a precious piece of history, that communicates the personal challenges and spiritual experiences that defined this generation of heroes.